SYDNEY coach John Longmire has refused to buy into the speculation surrounding Lance Franklin's future at the club, but he opened up on the situation surrounding another Swans great ahead of Saturday's home clash with lowly Adelaide.
Off the back of 29 disposals in the VFL on Friday night, three-time best-and-fairest winner Josh Kennedy is now fit enough for a return to the senior side but there is no guarantee the 34-year-old will be brought straight back into the frame.
Kennedy hasn't featured for the Swans in the AFL since he badly injured his hamstring in the round 10 loss to Carlton.
Having been demoted to the medi-sub role on two occasions earlier in the season, Longmire conceded his selection is not a straightforward scenario, especially with the Swans coming off arguably their best performance of the season in Saturday night's win over Fremantle.
"He got through the reserves game pretty well. I spoke to him this morning and he pulled up pretty well, that's a good sign. What we do with selection, I'm not sure just yet," Longmire said.
"The reality is Josh is such a quality person. I've had discussions all year with him around what selection looks like. I've got a terrific relationship with Josh. He's all about the team, he wants to be the best player still that he can possibly be."
"He understands the evolution of the team and where his role sits in that process. He's absolutely open to playing any role that we want him to play. We see him contributing to the team whether it's this week or in coming weeks," Longmire continued.
If Kennedy is left to bide his time in the VFL for one week or maybe longer, Longmire admits the conversations he has with the three-time All-Australian would be different to how he would manage a similar situation with a younger player.
"Naturally. I learnt from 'Roosy' (Paul Roos) when he first took over, he said I'll treat you all differently because you're all different people with different backgrounds. Josh has earned his right to be respected and I'm sure he'll contribute strongly in the back half of the year for us," he said.
While he was transparent on the Kennedy selection conundrum, Longmire wouldn't be drawn into the contract saga surrounding Franklin.
Franklin is out of contract this year, but Sydney boss Tom Harley said last week the club wanted the superstar to finish his career at the Swans as negotiations on a contract extension reached an impasse.
"Nothing surprises me in footy these days. There's a bit of noise outside but inside the footy club it's about trying to win. I don't comment on the contract status of our players," he said.
One player who has departed the Swans recently is smooth moving defender Jordan Dawson for a move back to his native South Australia.
He’ll turn out for the Crows against his former side on Saturday for the first time since leaving the harbour city.
"It looks like he's had a really solid year as we knew he would. He's a really good player, he was a good player for us, not surprised with what he's contributing this year," Longmire said.
